erict@flatline.UUCP (j eric townsend) (07/15/88)
In article <1090@ficc.UUCP>, peter@ficc.UUCP (Peter da Silva) writes: > In article <76700032@p.cs.uiuc.edu>, gillies@p.cs.uiuc.edu writes: > > 1. Simple programs that need OPTIMAL speed, and would be outrageously > > expensive on ANY machine. The major example is BITBLT, a subroutine > > with about 10-15 parameters that does a massive amount of linear-time > > work. If the BITBLT subroutines generates the machine code expressly > You can save an even greater factor by building the BitBlt into the > hardware. This is what the Commodore Amiga does, using a chip called > the Biltter. I'm pretty surprised that a chipset this good that's cheap Isn't this in essence what CBM did with the "sprite"s on the Commodore 64? (Can I mention that machine in this group? I didn't think so. :-) For those that never toyed with the 64, it has a graphics chip that handles from 0-8(? I think 8) MOB's called "sprites" (stupid name). You tell it what the MOB looks like, then just tell it to move the MOB. It handles multi-color (out of 16), foreground/background, and automatic collision detection. I was amazed to find that IBM PC's, Apple II's, and the other early C64 competition didn't have this capability. Anybody know what home/micro computer did it first? I'm pretty sure the Vic-20 could do this, but I'm not sure about the PET. -- Skate UNIX or go home, boogie boy... [Obscure joke goes here] J. Eric Townsend ->uunet!nuchat!flatline!erict smail:511Parker#2,Hstn,Tx,77007 ..!bellcore!tness1!/
lbruck@eneevax.UUCP (Lewis S.Bruck) (07/15/88)
In article <1110@flatline.UUCP> erict@flatline.UUCP (j eric townsend) writes: >In article <1090@ficc.UUCP>, peter@ficc.UUCP (Peter da Silva) writes: >> hardware. This is what the Commodore Amiga does, using a chip called >> the Biltter. I'm pretty surprised that a chipset this good that's cheap > >Isn't this in essence what CBM did with the "sprite"s on the Commodore >64? (Can I mention that machine in this group? I didn't think so. :-) > >For those that never toyed with the 64, it has a graphics chip that >handles from 0-8(? I think 8) MOB's called "sprites" (stupid name). >You tell it what the MOB looks like, then just tell it to move the >MOB. It handles multi-color (out of 16), foreground/background, and >automatic collision detection. I was amazed to find that IBM PC's, >Apple II's, and the other early C64 competition didn't have this capability. > >Anybody know what home/micro computer did it first? I'm pretty >sure the Vic-20 could do this, but I'm not sure about the PET. > I believe tha the first (or at least one of the earliest) was the old ATARI 400/800, which had a system called player/missile graphics which had quick movement independent of actually manipulating display memory and collision detection. The chipset was designed by Jay Miner, who also designed the Amiga's chipset. Sprite (or PM or MOB) graphics are different from the blitting that is done on the Amiga. The sprites are independent of the display memory, acting as an overlay, while the blitter actually manipulates display memory (and any other memory in it's address space). While the sprites are faster, they are limited in terms of colors and width of image, while the blitter is a more general purpose device. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Lewis Bruck lbruck@eneevax.umd.edu Not officially representing anybody, anywhere, for any reason
chris@mimsy.UUCP (Chris Torek) (07/15/88)
In article <1110@flatline.UUCP> erict@flatline.UUCP (j eric townsend) writes: >Isn't this in essence what CBM did with the "sprite"s on the Commodore >64? (Can I mention that machine in this group? I didn't think so. :-) But are we allowed to reminisce about intra-vertical-trace interrupts and adjusting the sprites and colors on the fly to get more sprites and colors than the hardware supported? (Talk about your realtime applications! :-) ) (No, actually, I never did any of that.) -- In-Real-Life: Chris Torek, Univ of MD Comp Sci Dept (+1 301 454 7163) Domain: chris@mimsy.umd.edu Path: uunet!mimsy!chris
dlm@druhi.ATT.COM (Dan Moore) (07/18/88)
in article <1110@flatline.UUCP>, erict@flatline.UUCP (j eric townsend) says: > Isn't this in essence what CBM did with the "sprite"s on the Commodore > 64? (Can I mention that machine in this group? I didn't think so. :-) > ... > Anybody know what home/micro computer did it first? I'm pretty > sure the Vic-20 could do this, but I'm not sure about the PET. > -- > Skate UNIX or go home, boogie boy... > [Obscure joke goes here] > J. Eric Townsend ->uunet!nuchat!flatline!erict smail:511Parker#2,Hstn,Tx,77007 > ..!bellcore!tness1!/ The first home system I know of with "sprites" was the Atari 2600 game machine. They called them "players". They were very limited by the hardware; 128 bytes of RAM, 4K ROM, no DMA so the CPU had to do everything in real time. The first computers that had this capability were the Atari 400 and 800, the machines CBM targeted with the C64. They had 4 "players" and 4 "missles" (2 pixel wide sprites), and all of them were DMA driven. The chipset used in the Atari 400 and 800 was designed by Jay Minor, the same person who designed the chipset used in the Amiga. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dan Moore AT&T Denver ihnp4!druhi!dlm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------